JPH09248313A - Pad cryogenic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pad used by being pressed to a body, cooled and heated with flexibility, to quickly perform preparation for a using temperature and to keep a cryogenic effect even after the lapse of using time. SOLUTION: By impressing a current controlled by a liquid temperature sensor 9 connected to a liquid cryogenic device 8, a pad temperature sensor 13 connected to the pad 12 and a temperature setting part 3 from a Pettier element current adjustment part 2 to a Peltier element 7, cooling and heating liquid inside the liquid cryogenic device 8 whose surface area and heat capacity are small and sending the liquid inside a heat conductive tube arranged thin in one layer on a surface inside the pad 12 through a heat insulation tube 10 by a pump 11, the pad 12 is cooled and heated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling / heating pad for use on the body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, as a pad-like object which is applied to the body to be cooled or warmed, an ice bag, a water pillow, a pillow in which a gel-like substance having a high heat retaining effect is sealed, a compress, and a disposable warmer have been generally used.

[0003]

However, an ice bag,
Water pillows and pillows that seal a gel-like substance with a high heat retention effect
Preparations are required to reach the operating temperature, which requires manpower and time.
In addition, the ice bag, the water pillow, the pillow in which the gel-like substance having a high heat retaining effect is sealed, the compress, and the disposable body warmer have a use temperature close to the ambient temperature as the use time passes, and the cooling effect decreases. The purpose of the present invention is to use a pad that is applied to the body
It has the flexibility of an ice sac, a water pillow, and a pillow or compress that seals a gel-like substance with a high heat-retaining effect, reaches the operating temperature quickly, and maintains the cooling effect even after the lapse of the operating time. .

[0004]

The pad cooling apparatus of the present invention uses a Peltier element, which is a thermoelectric element, to electrically cool and generate heat in order to maintain the cooling effect regardless of the use time. In order to give the applied pad flexibility, the Peltier element cools or warms the liquid and sends the liquid into the pad to remove hard materials from the pad itself and to reach the operating temperature quickly. To reduce the heat capacity of the cold heat container to make it easier to be affected by the heat of the Peltier device, and to reduce the surface area of the liquid cool heat container to prevent it from being affected by the heat from outside the Peltier device.
By arranging a heat conduction tube having an outer diameter smaller than the thickness of the pad in a single layer in the pad, the amount of liquid to be cooled and warmed is reduced to reduce the liquid heat capacity of the Peltier element to be cooled.

[0005]

With the pad cooling device of the present invention, the pad to be applied to the body remains soft, the set operating temperature can be reached quickly, and the cooling effect can be maintained. Therefore, when cooling and warming the body, prepare quickly without human intervention. With a nice and comfortable feel, it can keep the operating temperature for a long time.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings when a pad is used for cooling. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a pad cooling device of the present invention. The power supply unit 1 supplies electric power to the Peltier device 7, the fan 5, and the pump 11. The Peltier current adjusting unit 2 includes a temperature setting value set by the temperature setting unit 3, a temperature measurement value of the liquid temperature sensor 9 connected to the liquid cooler 8, and a pad temperature sensor 13 connected to the pad 12. The current applied to the Peltier element 7 is adjusted and output based on the measured temperature value of. The Peltier current change-over switch 4 sets the direction of the current sent to the Peltier element 7, and here the direction of the current is set so that the contact surface between the Peltier element 7 and the liquid cooler 8 causes an endothermic action. The liquid cooler 8 is configured so that liquid flows inside. The liquid cooler 8 has an external shape as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and its surface area is kept small by a container composed of the heat insulating material 14 and the metal plate 15. 4 and 5 are views showing the internal structure of the liquid cooler 8. The liquid is fed into the liquid cooler 8 through the heat insulating tube 16 and discharged. Metal plate 15
Is a portion that comes into surface contact with the Peltier element 7, and is composed of thermal conductivity and plate thickness that facilitate heat transfer.
The heat capacity is reduced by having the same area as the cold surface of. The liquid is affected by the heat of the Peltier element 7 only from the metal plate 15. The liquid cooler 8 is sandwiched by the cooling surface of the Peltier element 7, and when a current is applied to the Peltier element 7, the contact surface between the Peltier element 7 and the metal plate 15 of the liquid cooler 8 causes an endothermic action, and The liquid inside the liquid cooler 8 is cooled via the plate 15. The fan 5 and the radiating fins 6 generate heat on the other surface of the Peltier element 7 by causing an endothermic action on the contact surface between the Peltier element 7 and the metal plate 15 of the liquid cooler 8, so that the heat generated here is radiated. Then, the temperature rise of the Peltier element 7 is suppressed. The liquid cooled by the liquid cooler 8 is sent to the pad 12 while being kept cold by the pump 11 through the heat insulating tube 10. The pad 12 is composed of a heat conductive tube 17 and a heat conductive mat 19 that are easily deformed and to which heat is transferred, and a sponge 18 that is easily deformed and has excellent heat insulating properties. As shown in FIG. The conduction tubes 17 are arranged in a single layer without overlapping. As shown in FIG. 7, the heat conductive mat 19 is attached to the surface of the sponge 18. The heat-conducting tube 17 is in close contact with the heat-conducting mat 19 over its entire length, and the liquid passes through the heat-conducting tube 17 and has an inner diameter smaller than the thickness of the sponge 18 to the extent that the flow of the liquid is not hindered. . The sponge 18 is a heat transfer tube 17
Of the pad 1 to prevent the heat conduction tube 17 from losing its shape and alleviate the clogging of the tube due to the load of the heat conduction tube 17.
Even if the heat conduction tube 17 is deformed at the same time as the deformation of No. 2, the liquid clogging due to the bending of the tube is prevented. When the cooled liquid enters the pad 12, the heat conducting tube 17 and the heat conducting mat 19 are cooled. The pad temperature sensor 13 measures the liquid temperature of the heat conduction tube 17 and sends the temperature measurement value to the Peltier current adjusting unit 2. The surface of the body is cooled by bringing the cooled heat-conducting mat 19 of the pad 12 into surface contact with the body.

When the pad 12 is used for heating, the Peltier current selector switch 4 switches the direction of the current sent to the Peltier element 7 in the opposite direction so that the contact surface between the Peltier element 7 and the liquid cooler 8 causes heat to be generated. To set. The liquid is warmed and the pad 12 is warmed.

[0008]

As described above, the temperature of the Peltier element 7 can be easily changed by the Peltier current adjusting unit 2, and the Peltier element 7 can maintain the cooling effect when the power is supplied. With the liquid cooler 8 having a small surface area and a small heat capacity, the cooling action of the Peltier device 7 can be transferred to the liquid without waste without being affected by the external temperature. The pad 12 is made of a material that is easily deformed by the liquid that serves as a refrigerant, the heat conduction tube 17, the sponge 18, and the heat conduction mat 19 to allow flexibility, and is comfortable for humans and conforms to the shape of the body. Can be installed. The pad 12 has the heat conduction tubes 17 arranged in a single layer with a diameter smaller than the thickness of the pad 12, so that the liquid circulation amount required to bring the heat conduction mat 19 to the working temperature is small, and the cooling and Pad 1 because the total amount of liquid to be warmed can be reduced
The cold heat operation of 2 can be accelerated. By fixing the pad 12 on a thick cushion, the pad 12 can be used as a pillow, and by attaching a tape to the pad 12, the pad 12 can be wrapped around a limb or attached to a shoulder.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pad cooling / heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the liquid cooler 8.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the liquid cooler 8.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in the side view of the liquid cooler 8 of FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line AA in the front view of the liquid cooler 8 in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a liquid circulation diagram of the pad 12.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the pad 12.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Power Supply Section 2 Peltier Current Adjustment Section 3 Temperature Setting Section 4 Peltier Current Selection Switch 5 Fan 6 Radiating Fin 7 Peltier Element 8 Liquid Cooler 9 Liquid Temperature Sensor 10 Insulation Tube 11 Pump 12 Pad 13 Pad Temperature Sensor 14 Insulation Material 15 Metal Plate 16 Heat Insulation Tube 17 Heat Conduction Tube 18 Sponge 19 Heat Conduction Mat

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A liquid in a container having a small surface area and a small heat capacity is cooled and warmed by a Peltier element, thin heat conduction tubes are arranged in a layer, and the liquid is transferred to a pad attached to the surface of a sponge. A pad cooling / heating device characterized in that the pad is cooled and warmed by being pumped into a tube.